Description
Book SynopsisFrom Mandate Palestine to refugee camps in Jordan today, generations of Palestinians have been affected by the reach of the state into their everyday lives. Here Elise Young offers an analysis of the politics of state building in the Middle East, viewed through the lens of health. Young argues that gendered, raced and classed constructions of health, as evidenced in malaria eradication campaigns and the regularization of midwifery, are central to such state building processes. She draws on archival documents to uncover British medical administration and American involvement during the Mandate, and in-depth oral histories of Palestinian women refugees in Jordan. Making a powerful case for an alternative historiography of the region, this book will be invaluable for all those interested in Middle East history and politics, nationalism, gender, public health and refugees.
Trade Review'Elise Young's examination of the politics of women and health in Palestine and Jordan shows that conventional historiographies are not adequate for interpreting historical developments in the region. She provides a unique analysis of how British health campaigns in Palestine and Transjordan served British imperial interests. This book is important for the nuanced understanding it provides of the way in which changing definitions of health and health care systems in the period of modern nation state building were impacted by Western imperialism and colonialism. Young brings that process alive by bringing indigenous voices into her portrayal of a harrowing period in Palestine and Transjordan-especially for refugee midwifes.' - Elaine Hagopian, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Simmons College, Boston; 'Elise Young's book is a thought-provoking and pioneering work in valuing the stories of silenced women in an Arab neocolonial context. It presents a forgotten and silenced history of dayat in Jordan and Palestine: those I heard my grandfather, a doctor, refer to as the wise women, the birthers of the modern nations of Palestine and Jordan. Young foregrounds the voices of women of strength and knowledge, offering a narrative fragmented and devalued in a century of perpetuating neo/colonialism. Her work represents a daring kind of research in contested terrain still rarely explored in the history of postcolonial Palestine and Jordan. Young's book should be required reading not just for students of history but, more importantly, as a resource for feminist scholars who are still far from engaging with other women in Arab contexts. It will also be a valuable source for Jordanian/Palestinian scholars of history, public health, women's studies and education.' - Manal Hamzeh, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Women's Studies, New Mexico State University
Table of ContentsPREFACE 1. INTRODUCTION Approach and Methodology: ‘Knowledge’ in the Era of the Modern Nation-state Feminist Epistemology and Modernization Theory: Transmission of Knowledges Epistemology and Oral History Methodology Feminist Theory and Middle East Studies State of the Field: Research on Jordan Chapter Outline 2. IMPERIALISM AND HEALTH: POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF MALARIA ERADICATION CAMPAIGNS IN PALESTINE AND TRANSJORDAN, 1919-1939 An Imperial Pursuit: Malaria Eradication and Land Reclamation Race, Gender, Class Politics of Malaria Eradication The Political Economy of Health and Rehabilitation Mighty Reactions and Anti-Malaria Measures: A Testing Ground Long Term Effects Conclusion 3. BETWEEN DAYA AND DOCTOR: A FORMIDABLE ABYSS? Dangerous Hags and Sanitized Hovels: Midwifery and Modernity Reorganization/Regulation/Specialization A Formidable Journey: Midwives in Refugee Camps in Jordan Conclusion 4. THE CAMP OF RETURN: HEALTH AND PALESTINIAN WOMEN REFUGEES IN JORDAN Refugee or Freedom Fighter? Identity Politics and Health in Exile The Political Economy of Refugee Health Women Talk About Health: Al-Ghurbah, The Disaster From Jabal al-Hussein Camp to the Ministry: Poverty/Reproductive Health/Resistance Conclusion AFTERWORD BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
